Once a King of the Cereal Aisle, the Brand Now Ranks 17th

After winning 18 Grand Slam tennis singles trophies,
Chris Evert
received an honor that still excites her: a 1987 appearance on the Wheaties cereal box.

"That box is enshrined in my office," said Evert, now a tennis analyst for ESPN.

But don't ask her which athletes grace the current Wheaties box. "Is (that program) still going on now?" asked Evert, acknowledging that she doesn't buy the cereal.

The newest Wheaties faces are Mikaela Shiffrin and Sage Kotsenburg, the American skier and snowboarder who won gold medals at last month's Sochi Olympics. The honor confers an undisclosed amount of money and months of grocery-shelf visibility, along with membership in a hall-of-fame gallery of former Wheaties athletes such as Jim Thorpe and Wilt Chamberlain.

"The Wheaties box is iconic and very valuable for an athlete," said Peter Carlisle, an Octagon managing director who represents Shiffrin.

Yet are the world's greatest athletes capable of selling Wheaties?

Once a king of the cereal aisle, the 91-year-old brand is a laggard nowadays, ranking 17th among U.S. cereal brands, according to Euromonitor International. Over several decades, its market share has dropped from the high single digits to barely 1%, said Matthew Hudak, a consumer analyst at Euromonitor International.

Wheaties maker
General Mills
Inc.,
based in Minneapolis, declined to comment on market share. It also declined to discuss the financial arrangements it strikes with athletes or the process by which it chooses who appears on boxes of Wheaties, known as "the Breakfast of Champions." It also wouldn't say how many athletes have appeared on the box—a number that ranker.com, a website that has lists on anything and everything, places at 474.

Unlike many of the athletes who have appeared on its box—Lance Armstrong, for instance, or Pete Rose or Tiger Woods—Wheaties has never been the subject of scandal. In fact, the flakes of dry wheat are widely perceived as boring, analysts say. "I don't know anybody who really loves Wheaties," said Lloyd Moritz, author of a blog called the Breakfast Bowl.

Of course, Wheaties is a healthier option than sugar-rich cereals like Kellogg's better-selling Froot Loops. But within the healthy category, Wheaties has been outmarketed by newcomers like Kashi as well as by reinvigorated old brands like Kellogg's Special K. "There are simply more better-for-you options, and tastier ones too," said Euromonitor's Hudak.

In 2009, General Mills launched a spinoff called Wheaties Fuel "with the help of a number of megastar athletes, such as Kevin Garnett and Peyton Manning," according to a company website. The website notes that "Wheaties Fuel remained on the market until 2012."

Not that other General Mills brands aren't thriving. No cereal sells better than the company's Cheerios, which commands more than 12% of the U.S. market, according to Euromonitor. Of Wheaties, a company spokeswoman said, "It's still a considerable honor to appear on the Wheaties box."

General Mills says the first athlete to be featured on the box was Lou Gehrig in 1934, and that Michael Jordan holds the record for most appearances at 18. Once touted as "what the big boys eat," Wheaties in 1984 placed a female athlete, Mary Lou Retton, on its box for the first time.

The money that comes with a Wheaties appearance may not mean much to well-paid stars. Evert said the money "certainly didn't stand out." But it can mean a lot to Olympians who often live hand-to-mouth. "It's a drop in the bucket for professional hockey or basketball players," said Carlisle, but Olympians "receive 90% of their income from corporate sponsorships."

A substantial market exists among collectors of Wheaties boxes. Most sell for a few dollars, with those autographed by the featured athlete garnering more. One eBay advertisement offers a 1935 Wheaties box panel featuring Gehrig for $369.95.

Wheaties are no longer popular because they've been lost in the plethora of cereals on the shelves. They've become just another sugar/sodium laden cereal that is convenient to eat instead of having a real breakfast. Just have the kid sit down, pour some milk and BINGO...junior has his sugar/simple carb fix for the day. Great way to start the day.

Wheaties are not selling because they simply are an obsolete product. Wheaties taste no better than alternatives such as generic Bran Flakes, but are much less healthy. Ask any athlete who are on the boxes if they eat Wheaties. The answer will most likely be no.

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